Hockey teams welcome young skaters to Hamilton

Members of the Colgate men's ice hockey team had a special few days recently as they welcomed a contingent of athletes from the Ed Snider Youth Hockey Foundation in Philadelphia.

The youth group of 36 athletes aged 12-14 years old and four counselors made the trip from Philadelphia to Hamilton for a few days of hockey training and education, as well as to enjoy the Colgate University campus.

Colgate assistant coach Mike Harder '97 was instrumental in bringing the Snider Hockey group to Colgate after planning the Raiders’ trip to New York City's Central Park in January, when they volunteered with Hockey in Harlem.

"It's been a really good experience," said Zack Damico, senior coordinator of hockey operations at Snider Hockey. "We've been really busy, which is great. All positives. The players that are helping out, they've been great.

"I think it's nice for the kids to get a different voice, so just them being able to talk to the kids on and off the ice has been awesome and that's what we want. We want these kids to get a taste of what the college life is about."

Snider Hockey was created in 2005 by Philadelphia Flyers Chairman Ed Snider as his personal commitment to teach children important life lessons. Through their mantra "building lives and uniting communities," Snider Hockey uses the sport to give children of inner city Philadelphia the opportunity to try a new sport, as well 30090as get support in academics and life.

Although just 36 kids made the trip to Colgate, there are over 2,000 children in the organization who range from ages 5-18 years old who attend hockey practices and other Snider Hockey activities throughout Philadelphia.

"Our main goal is we want to give kids the opportunity to get on a better path than they're on, to give them that outlet," Damico said. "A big thing is how can we be that positive voice, how can we be that guiding light to these kids and let them learn a new sport, understand that they can get into a good high school and that there is a good opportunity after high school."

Coming to Colgate, the Raiders had seven incoming freshmen as well as rising sophomore Jared Cockrell (Byfield, Massachusetts) and rising junior Hunter Racine (Ottawa, Ontario) serve as coaches for the Snider Hockey athletes in addition to rising senior Annika Zalewski (New Hartford, New York) and rising junior Jessie Eldridge (Barrie, Ontario) from the women's ice hockey team. Not only were the group of Raiders providing insight on hockey, but they were helping build a bridge to get the campers interested in college.

"The thing about these kids and the situation they're in, a30087 lot of them without getting educated about college and having that desire to go to college, it will never be a dream for them," Cockrell said. "It's really special to get them to places like this and let them know these tools are here, these schools are here. If they work hard and do the right thing, they can make that happen."

After doing hockey training one morning, members of Snider Hockey had an English lesson followed by an afternoon science lesson where they learned to make ice cream with liquid nitrogen. The kids enjoyed their vanilla and chocolate ice cream with the toppings of their choice before hopping back on the ice for an evening of small-sided games with their new Colgate coaches.

"It's a different feel with these kids," Cockrell said. "The amount of athletic ability in this group is really impressive. The natural talent they have, you can really see it on the ice too. You can see these athletes for who they are.

"Unlike a lot of typical hockey players at my level, we start at a few years old, and they're just getting started. Their passion for it is really impressive; it's really great to see."

Cockrell and the rest of his Raider teammates provided 30088valuable insight to the kids from Snider Hockey about getting better at hockey as well as getting better in the classroom.

The trip to Colgate was a great success for both the Raiders and Snider Hockey, and both expect it to be the beginning of a great bond between the two. To get hockey training and a sneak peak into the college lifestyle from student-athletes, coaches and Colgate professors really speaks to what Snider Hockey is all about.

"At the end of the day, everybody's not going to be a professional hockey player, which is fine," Damico said. "If we can take a child and turn them into a positive person in the community and it's something they can pass down to the younger kids, that's a lot of what we're striving for and aiming for."